I’ve had this bike since my early teens. I rode it all around Milan, where I grew up. It gave me the freedom to travel all around the city, until I got a driver’s license. Then I had no longer any use for it (or so I thought).

Just about the only thing that makes it the same bike that I bought originally is the frame. Most parts and components have been replaced at least once or twice. Even the frame itself has been modified. I snapped off the pump pegs from the seat tube and filed the fork’s dropouts for the larger front hub axle.

It started as a 4 speed city bike, with a flat bar, fenders, generator powered lights, chain guard and rear rack. It currently sports 14 speeds, friction downtube shifters, aluminum wheels, a Shimano cranckset and a clamp-on bottle cage.

I started riding it again many years ago and rode it for a couple of years, in the late 90’s, as I started developing my current love of cycling. That’s when I converted it into an imitation road bike. The yellow parts look great against the original metallic blue frame paint.

I had just signed up to ride the NYC Century, my first century, when the bottom bracket spindle broke. That’s when I finally upgraded to a modern road bike, my 2001 Schwinn Fastback.

After I bought my Schwinn I lent this to a friend of mine who lives in the village. When her building experienced a fire we first thought the bike was lost. In the end, the building’s bike storage room had been spared. I was very happy to get my old Rossignoli back unscathed.

I now keep it clamped to my trainer. The single pivot break calipers visibly bend when I squeeze the break levers. The bottom of the frame itself visibly bends sideways when I bear down on the pedals in the trainer.

It’s a wonder I covered as many miles as I did on it.